The Lord as Consciousness (chit) and existence or being (sat) is the ground of all creatures. Because all forms of life are composed of the same substance, God, only the ignorant see distinctions where in reality none are present.

God, as the Cosmic Intelligent Vibration, is the Creator of all things. He is the First Cause of all created things. But then the question comes: "Who created God? The stormy ocean creates the waves, but who creates the Ocean?" The answer is: Infinite Spirit. The word "God" means the manifested, transcendental Being beyond creation, but existing in relation to creation. Spirit existed before God. God is the Creator of the universe, but Spirit is the Creator of God.

Spirit is not the universe; Spirit is that which was and will be whether the universe does or does not exist. Spirit includes everything. [from The Hiding Place of God by Paramahansa Yogananda]